


No Accounting for Adoption

by OneEntireBee



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff, Giant Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 01:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14781314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneEntireBee/pseuds/OneEntireBee
Summary: Family tradition states that Lilian can't see her husband until they're married. The surprise she gets on her wedding day is bigger than she bargained for.





	No Accounting for Adoption

Lilian’s brain did the job of her alarm. She rolled over in the dark, checking her pocket comp for the time. She didn’t have to be up for four more hours. 

Wincing in the face of the comp’s blue glare, she drew up her messages. A handful of sponsors begging for money and her family’s muscle in the legal system were filtered automatically into their own folder. Appointment reminders were set for every few hours over the course of the next few days, though Lilian had little to no need of them when she couldn’t stop thinking about what was coming. She wouldn’t strictly say she was nervous, but she had a lot to anticipate.

The sole message left unfiltered in her inbox came from the big thing she was anticipating.

> _Sender:_ Karr  
>  _Subject:_ Tonight!  
>  _Sent at:_ 01:49
> 
> Hello, Lilian. I send this message with galaxy’s worth of apologies if the notification that accompanies it wakes you from your sleep. I have found myself unable to sleep, and I suppose I am composing this in the hope that you are burdened by the same predicament. 
> 
> I have taken your suggestions on wordiness to heart, and so I would like to cut the “small talk” short and communicate the heart of my sentiments: I am as excited as it is physically possible for me to be in regards to our meeting this evening. I am aware that I have inadvertently caused you consternation by my inability to send you images of myself. I assure you, my refusal only comes from a longstanding family tradition. It is considered the worst of luck for an inbound bride to look her husband in the face before she meets him as one on the altar. I give you my sincerest hope that, when you do see me, my appearance will not cause you concern or displeasure.
> 
> — With love and pleasantries, Karr

Lilian smiled at the screen as she scratched her hair. In every correspondence she’d had with the prince of Miin over the last two weeks, he’d been eager and sweet, if not a little awkward. So far, it seemed like there were worse guys she could be married off to.

She messaged Karr back reassuring him of her excitement before trying to get another hour or two of sleep in. Karr seemed nice, but she just didn’t know enough about him. The royal family in Miin was a little more traditional than her own. They were protective of their baby boy, keeping him out of the public eye to the point that Lilian couldn’t snoop info about Karr if she’d tried. She knew Karr’s family was made up of humanoids, had been in power for just over a decade, and were considered good rulers by their subjects when all was said and done. Lilian was at least happy to know she was marrying another humanoid. Her brother had been shipped off to spend his life with a goo woman who smelled like burnt charcoal every time Lilian visited them for dinner. (Lilian knew she was probably a perfectly nice wife. But she would never have been able to get over the smell.)

Two human women met Lilian when she arrived at the palace, one young and one old. Lilian assumed they were servants until the older woman introduced herself as queen and the girl asked Lilian to take good care of her brother. They showed Lilian to a temporary chamber where she was worked over by stylists for the rest of the day.

“Karr adores you already,” the queen assured Lilian as she gave her wedding outfit a final look. Miin favored muted colors for their traditional clothing, but as Lilian was representing her homeland, she was draped in violet silk. The queen gave her a hug and wished her good luck before running off to represent herself at the introductory services. 

Half the capital city had turned out for this marriage, so Lilian quadruple checked her hair and makeup and carefully raised the hem of her gown before ascending the stairs to the altar projecting from the palace’s front gates. The rest of the royal family was seated in simple thrones to her left. Lilian gave them a respectful nod then smiled beatifically at the audience as she waited for the master of ceremonies to announce the groom’s entrance. When he did, everyone’s gazes turned to the opposite side of the altar platform.

Lilian’s fingers went slack. The hem of her dress fluttered to the carpet as she stared her husband in the eye. Eyes. He had eight of them.

Karr pulled himself to his full height atop his furred legs, and Lilian had to crane her neck to keep track of his face. He was arachnoid in form, his exoskeleton vibrantly colored in shades of blue and green. Lilian would have to stand on her own shoulders twice over to reach his back.

“. . . Karr?” she whispered, her voice cutting through the wind and the murmur of the crowd.

“Hello, Lilian,” the spider greeted her. He bowed to her, ducking his head gracefully.

“You. . . how. . . your family doesn’t. . .”

“I am adopted,” he informed her. His chelicherae twitched a few times. “Does this come as a surprise to you? If you are distressed by my appearance, I can take measures to annul our union, although it may be difficult to secure the proper —”

Lilian strode forward while he was speaking. The crowd’s voices rose in excitement as she grabbed one of his front arms. He felt softer than he looked.

“I have no problem with spiders. You gave me a shock, that was all. Although. . .” Lilian covered her mouth and stood on her tiptoes. Karr still had to lower his body to hear her. “How are we going to consummate this thing?”

All Miinnian marriages required a ritual consummation at a local temple. Lilian had no problem performing in public, but she had been expecting to work with a more accessible set of genitals.

Karr’s head bobbed towards the thrones. “Do not worry. My mother has purchased a collection of educational reading materials to acquaint you with my biology.”

Lilian liked her mother in law already.


End file.
